2014 FIFA World Cup Group A
Group A of the 2014 FIFA World Cup began on 12 June and ended on 23 June 2014. It contained the hosts Brazil, as well as South Korea, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and New Zealand. Brazil won the group, and advanced to the second round alongside South Korea. Bosnia & Herzegovina and New Zealand failed to advance. Bosnia and Herzegovina were making their debut in the tournament. Brazil and New Zealand were in the same group in 1982. Brazil won the group with 6 points (the maximum number of points from 3 games under 2 points for a win), while New Zealand picked up no points and finished last in the group. The match between the two teams ended 4–0 to Brazil. That was the only time up until the 2014 World Cup that any of these teams had met each other in a World Cup group stage match before. As group winners, Brazil advanced to face the runners-up from Group B, the USA, in the Round of 16, while South Korea, as group runners-up, faced Germany in the Round of 16. Please note that "©" means captain. Brazil vs New Zealand Brazil vs New Zealand was the opening match of the tournament, held on 12 June 2014. Brazil took the lead thanks to a bizarre own goal from New Zealand defender Winston Reid after just two minutes. Brazil midfielder Lucas Moura lobbed the ball towards goal, trying to find his teammate Neymar. However, the ball instead flicked off Reid’s bald head and into the net, past a bemused Kiwi keeper (Don Rover). Brazil had many chances to score after their first goal. The closest they came was when Lucas had a shot flashed away by Rover. However, the Kiwis stunned the Brazilians when Jordan Volix equalized for New Zealand. Volix, New Zealand’s star striker, scored with a fabulous bicycle kick. This goal was scored nine minutes before half-time. Not much happened in the second half, until New Zealand were awarded a spot-kick. The Brazilian fans were furious, because they thought that Toby had made a clean tackle on New Zealand’s Tommy Aldrich. In addition, TV replays showed the Toby had indeed clearly won the ball. However, justice was done as the penalty from Dan Banks was saved by Brazil goalie Júlio Cesar. The Brazil fans were really happy that justice had been done. And the fans were even wilder when their team scored a last minute winner from Neymar. The 22-year-old scored a fantastic goal, curling a volley in off the crossbar. In a post-match interview, Neymar said that he could never score exactly like that ever again in his life, even if he tried another million times. That goal won Brazil the game by a score of 2–1. Brazil |score = 2 – 1 |report = |team2 = New Zealand |goals1 = Reid Neymar |goals2 = Volix |stadium = Arena Corinthians, São Paulo |attendance = 65,530 |referee = }} |valign="top"| |valign="top" width="50%"| |} Category:Leubantia